With the rise of social media and online shops, opportunities for showcasing artwork  are increasing  tenfold. Young artists are finding more outlets to sell their creations around the world online or right on the University’s campus. Here are three creative students who run their own artistic businesses.

Chad Vasquez

Graphic design senior and owner of Spacebakers, Chad Vasquez, started sketching as a child and with encouragement from his mother, continued to produce art.  Inspired by hip hop and 90’s cartoons, Vasquez combines his interests and translates them into his drawings.  

One of his projects includes animated depictions of Jay-Z sharing a toast with Johnny Bravo, Ice Cube taking a selfie with T.J. Detweiler from “Recess” and Tupac greeting characters from “Hey Arnold.”  It wasn’t until after Vasquez shared the images on his Twitter account and collected thousands of retweets that he thought of forming his own brand.

“[The tweet] is what started everything because after I did that, a lot of people started asking like, ‘Hey, you should put these on shirts’ . . . so I actually started considering having my own brand,” he recalled.

With support from his friends and followers, Chad started Spacebakers in August 2016. Since then, his online portfolio expanded to include graphics of Young Thug as Arthur the Aardvark, Kodak Black as Little Bill, the Spacebakers spaceship logo and more on prints, t-shirts, and stickers.

“I’ve had customers from the United Kingdom, I’ve had customers from parts of the [United States] I’ve never been to, but it’s given me the opportunity for people to see my work,” he says.

Following graduation, Vasquez says he hopes to open his own shop which will  feature his art and current products. For now, you can find his store online at spacebakers.net.

Tenea Montague

Studio art sophomore Tenea Montague knew her heart was in drawing cartoons beginning at an early age. While her grade school art teachers urged her to try a more realistic style, she maintained her original love for animation and now makes personalized digital art.

Montague began drawing in the third grade and by the sixth grade knew she wanted to pursue art as a career. She began investing more time and money into her craft and got into digital drawing. Montague now makes and sells custom digital portraits and cartoons.

“Cartoons . . . don’t have that many boundaries,” Montague says. “You’re more free to draw what you want. There’s not that many rules with drawing cartoons, so that’s usually what I stick with.”

Montague pulls from her everyday life for inspiration and is, in her own words, “definitely not a serious artist.” She describes her personal style as colorful and floral.

“I guess you can say my aesthetic is flowers. I like wearing flower dresses, I have a lot of flower crowns, some phone cases I have are floral design,” she explains. Her love of floral patterns is especially evident in her art with the bright expressive colors making the prints come to life.

In high school, Montague’s art teacher encouraged her to display her artwork at Baton Rouge’s annual local merchant showcase, White Light Night. After not selling any pieces at the event, her father posted photos of her work on Facebook where friends expressed interest in purchasing her drawings.

“After…White Light Night…I was kind of discouraged. At that point, I felt like I wasn’t a good artist. But really it’s just, you have to pay attention to your audience,” Montague says.

After advertising her art on her Facebook, more people became interested in her work. Along with her premade work, buyers can now request customized drawings which Montague sends as digital files.

Montague can be reached via her Facebook page. 

Molly Katz

Pre-veterinary sophomore Molly Katz’s do-it-yourself approach to trendy, but often pricey jewelry led to the creation of her business, Beading by Molly (BBM) Jewelry, this past summer.

“I went to stores and I saw all this jewelry, and it was so expensive and I thought, ‘I can make it myself’,” she recalled.

Using her mother, owner of Artsy Fartsy NOLA, as her main guidance, she says she started her business under her mother’s influence. Though Katz is a pre-vet major, her love of fashion compelled her to start creating jewelry.

BBM Jewelry sells stylish accessories for various occasions including LSU game days. The designer offers a selection of different tiger pendants to pair with the buyer’s choice of chain or beaded necklace. Her most popular piece, the tiger choker, boasts an ornate tiger pendant that nestles between the collarbones. The best selling necklace comes in traditional purple and gold with  other colors available upon request.

But, the most recent BBM collection isn’t limited to just the LSU theme. Katz makes wraps, chokers and other personalized necklaces.

Katz says she hopes to continue growing BBM as it has become her main source of income. Already making appearances at jewelry conventions and in store at LD Linens and Decor on Perkins Road, the budding designer is on her way to success.

BBM Jewelry has an Instagram @bbm_jewelry and a Facebook page.